Box Score

WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team fell on the road, dropping a 75-57 contest to McDaniel College on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Gill Center Gymnasium.

McDaniel (9-4, CC 4-3) opened up an early lead behind the shooting prowess of Wes Brooks, who set the tone for the game with two quick 3-pointers.  Freshman Zack Yonda initiated the scoring for Swarthmore (6-8, CC 2-5) with a driving lay-up at the 18:00 minute mark.  After a pair of Garnet misses led to a fast-break bucket for McDaniel, Coach Kosmalski called for a timeout seeing his team down 11-2 just 4:13 into the game. 

The Green Terror continued to surge despite Swarthmore's attempts to stymie their momentum.  A strong take in the post by sophomore Chris Bourne made the score 19-10 but Brooks answered quickly for McDaniel with his third 3-pointer in as many tries. Brooks continued to light up the scoreboard, drilling his fourth attempt from downtown and putting McDaniel up 30-14 with 6:38 to go.

As the half wore on, Swarthmore threw a range of defensive looks at their opposition.  As the Garnet turned to a variety of zone formations, McDaniel continued to rely on their long distance shooting.  The Green Terror drilled seven of nine 3-pointers and opened up a twenty point lead heading into the half. 

Down 42-22 entering the second period of play, Swarthmore came out of the locker room with a quick bucket by Bourne, assisted by Yonda.  After a fruitless possession for the Green Terror, senior Karl Barkley buried a deep 3-pointer to draw Swarthmore within 14 of their conference foe at 17:25.

McDaniel quickly made up for their initial sluggishness out of the break.  Duane Nichols joined the party from beyond the arc and a Nic Martin lay-up gave McDaniel a 21-point lead with 12:49 remaining.   

The Garnet showed significant fight down the stretch, shrinking the deficit to 12 with 8:35 left in the contest on the back of strong offensive play from Yonda, Bourne and Barkley.  Yonda and Barkley found their stroke from behind the arc while Bourne continued to prove his worth as a top scoring option in the post.

Unfortunately for Swarthmore, McDaniel regained their composure in the waning minutes and re-established a 22-point lead off an easy bucket by Martin following a steal with 5:45 to go.  Sophomore Michael Rubayo collected eight points in the final two and a half minutes for the Garnet, drawing the final deficit to 18. 

Swarthmore was undeniably led by standout freshman Zack Yonda.  The 6'2" guard poured in a game-high 18 points while also reeling in a game-high seven rebounds.  Yonda dished out four assists as well which proved good enough for a share of the game-high mark with McDaniel's Andrew Merlo.  Yonda was supported by a nice performance from Bourne who impressed with a 15-point night of his own. 

For McDaniel, long range accuracy was the story of the night.  The home team knocked down 9 of 15 3-pointers en route to a 49% day from the field.  Despite a slow start from Tim Stewart, the Green Terror's leading scorer found his groove, finishing with a team-high 15 points.  Brooks led the assault form downtown, scoring 12 of his 14 points from behind the 3-point line. 

Swarthmore will look to right the ship this Saturday, Jan. 17 as they take on Gettysburg in the friendly confines of Tarble Pavilion at 3 p.m.